Bill Dawson is a recognized authority on merging the entertainment industry with the Internet. A veteran in the CD-ROM, DVD, and Internet industries, Dawson has created over 30 products for a dozen companies, ranging from scientific research tools to video games. In 2000, he became the President of Manex Interactive, the multimedia division of Manex Entertainment, which had pioneered the Academy Award-winning visual effects for “The Matrix” and “What Dreams May Come,” among other films. While building the operation from scratch, Dawson directed the division’s creation of cutting-edge Web sites, CD-ROM products, video games, interactive kiosks and digital video production. Dawson previously co-founded XOOM.com – now NBC Internet – then the 7th largest Internet site in the world. He led XOOM from inception to IPO – with a valuation in excess of $60 billion dollars – while heading up the company’s engineering, Internet, design and product development teams. Prior to that, he served as Technical Director for SoftNet's ISP Channel, an Internet service provider supplying cable modem service to 2.4 million subscribers. Earlier in his career, Dawson was the Chief Science Officer of Apple Computer and a member of the Macintosh Development Team. He also helped launch the optical media industry by producing the world’s first CD-ROMs and DVDs, authoring both the media and development systems that mastered them.